Heartbroken By My Deceitful Savior, Healed By My Arranged Groom

"Are you the housekeeper for Jordy's family?" asked the woman in a vibrant red dress, looking seductive. She spoke the moment Cassie Lloyd opened the door. Her voice carried a confident aura.

Cassie's expression turned stiff in an instant.

She thought this stranger must have mistaken the house for another home.

But that thought shattered the moment she noticed the man beside the woman. Her husband, Jordy Sutton, stood there.

"Go make some coffee. I need a word with you later," Jordy said, irritation pulling at his face when Cassie did not respond fast enough.

Before, he used to overlook her simple ways. Now that he carried influence in Neerdale, he acted as though a stay-at-home wife like her had no place at his side.

Jordy brushed past Cassie when she failed to move. He guided the woman inside with a careful hand.

"You should take it easy. You're expecting, and you need all the rest you can get," Jordy said to the woman.

Cassie felt her head go blank when she heard that.

The woman was carrying a child?

Was it Jordy's?

What exactly was happening here?

Cassie stood there, unable to believe that Jordy not only had another woman, but also had the gall to bring her into their home.

"Are you Jordy's mistress?" Cassie asked the woman, her voice steady as she held on to the kitchen knife she had not yet set down.

"Mistress?" the woman exclaimed, her eyes flaring with anger. "I'm Lucinda Jones from the powerful Jones family. Watch your mouth when you talk to me. And once Jordy finally divorces that forgotten wife of his, I'll be the next Mrs. Sutton."

Lucinda's gaze swept over Cassie from head to toe. "Don't tell me you are the wife he's been so eager to get rid of."

Most days, Cassie wore simple clothes and put all her effort into caring for Jordy's mother and managing his company's affairs. Today was no different. She had been cooking when the doorbell rang, dressed in something loose and comfortable.

Her bare face, framed by glasses, looked tired, and her lips had lost their color from months of quiet stress. She was far from unattractive, but her appearance now clearly couldn't compare to Lucinda's polished look.

"Jordy, don't you think I deserve an explanation for this?" Cassie said as she steadied herself and turned her focus to Jordy, refusing to let her shock overwhelm her.

Jordy barely spared her a look, dismissing her completely. He kept his attention on Lucinda as he led her further inside. "She is indeed my wife, Cassie. Don't waste your breath on her. She isn't worth your time."

Now that the confusion was gone, Lucinda's eyes were filled with open contempt toward Cassie.

"Well, so she really is Cassie," she sneered, curling her lips. "Honestly, she's hopeless. Just look at her-so plain and desperate to hang on to you. Jordy, you're way too kind. If it were up to me, I would have shown her the door a long time ago."

Cassie let out a cold laugh and turned her gaze to Jordy. "So, I'm plain and the one desperately holding on to you, is that it?"

That was how he introduced her to others?

She approached the pair, the kitchen knife still in her grasp. The sight of the knife wiped the smugness right off Lucinda's face.

"Ms. Jones, is it?" Cassie gave Lucinda a smile that held no warmth. "Let me tell you something I believe you need to know. Two years ago, Jordy had nothing. I put up the cash to get his business going. I tracked down the right people for the technical team; most of them were my friends from college. When it came time to build the factories, I was the one handling every detail. Funny how now that he is successful, he claims all the credit and says I am the one holding onto him."

She turned to look at Jordy. "Quite a story you're spinning."

Saying the words out loud, Cassie felt a wave of regret. She could not believe how blind she had been these years.

It was her support that allowed Jordy to get this far. If she had not owed him for saving her life, she never would have run from her father's plans for her and chosen to build a future with Jordy instead.

For Jordy's sake, she left behind an engagement her father had arranged, poured herself into his company's business, and took care of his sick mother every single day.

Those years had changed her. She had nearly forgotten what it was like to be the cherished daughter of the Lloyd family...

Jordy turned a cold stare on Cassie as he steered Lucinda to the sofa. "Cassie, I really don't have time for this. The only reason I married you was that my mother wanted it, and you were so willing. Looking back, I think it was such a rash decision. I never loved you. For two years, I never slept with you. Isn't it obvious that I don't have any feelings for you at all?"

Each word was like a knife to Cassie's heart.

"You always said you were too busy with work..." Cassie muttered.

"That was just something to tell you. Lucinda is the one I always care about, not you," Jordy scoffed, rolling his eyes. "The Sutton Group is mine now. I hold all the shares. You've got nothing to your name. I put up with you only because you looked after my mother, but with Lucinda expecting and her background, I can't keep her waiting for me. Our marriage has to end."

Lucinda's background?

She had said she was a member of the powerful Jones family.

Cassie tried to remember if that name meant anything, but nothing came to mind. She didn't know any Jones family that was powerful.

Everything was clear to her now. Jordy was desperate to move up in the world and had found someone powerful to help him; he was eager to toss her aside.

She hadn't anticipated that the man she had poured her heart into for two years could turn out to be this heartless.